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"I think the real problem here is that there is no problem."

posted 8 years ago by andrereichenbacher
7 replies | jump to latest

Said by Roseanne in the pilot episode back in 1988. And it spoke volumes, IMO. That ignorant teacher woman was obviously the polar opposite in personality to Roseanne and her family and she would never understand why they were the way they were. That dumb bimbo was unfit to be a teacher, I feel. She had no concept of what it meant to be a mother of three on a tight budget with no free time. And quite frankly, she wasted Rosie's time making her come in to discuss a "problem" her daughter suppposedly had. And I couldn't believe how condescending she was, it was clear she was talking down to Roseanne and that she thought she was better than her. I'm really glad we never saw that stupid woman ever again. She was part of the upper crust of society and obviously had no clue what it meant to be a blue-collar working class person. Roseanne told her what needed to be said. And I'm glad. Some people shouldn't be teachers, especially if they are like that pompous bitch was!

[–] banjo-peppers 8 years ago

Well it's not out of line for a teacher to be concerned that a student is causing a disruption in class for no apparent reason, but if I recall correctly that was the teacher that wanted to reschedule because Roseanne was late to the meeting? That was definitely out of line. The issue could've been addressed with a phone call or a letter home. Although I do understand the teacher not being thrilled with Roseanne being late, and again, her being concerned about Darlene barking in class - as a 6th grader, that's out of line - but the teacher handled it pretty stupidly.

[–] Honeybefine 8 years ago

I'm a teacher, but even when I was younger I never liked how Roseanne felt her time was so precious. She's late and the teacher has to just wait around? Let the teacher doesn't have household chores and responsibilities. I would have just walked out. Considering the way Roseanne reacted to having (as proven by that and later episodes) a disrespectful daughter, nothing changed at home.

[–] jname967 8 years ago

Thanks. I know, right? I'm not knocking Roseanne for being frustrated, but she acted like it was all about her. Also: the teacher cared enough to discuss Darlene's behavior with Roseanne. She wasn't apathetic, at least. I've also had friends that are teachers, and it's NOT an easy job.

[–] jname967 8 years ago

Honestly, I always disagreed with Roseanne's (statement) that there was "no problem".

Wait, wait, hear me out: Was Darlene's behavior seriously disturbed? NO. But as another post said on this thread: it IS disruptive behavior, and it's normal for any teacher to bring it up. But as the other post also said: the teacher may have used too drastic of measures (making a busy mom take time out of her schedule to discuss it, etc). I don't think it's out of line for the teacher to bring it up to the mom, but it was very inconsiderate of her to want to reschedule because she "had squash" (the game) lined up right away. That was the point of the scene though: the notable spotlight on class differences.

Lastly, it can be said that it's further more interesting because teachers are generally NOT well-paid, even compared to blue collar workers like Roseanne!! LOL. Unless they're teaching at a higher eduction/private institute perhaps, which this clearly wasn't lol! But to speculate, maybe the teacher came from a well off family, and teaching was just her passion/ "noble" career choice.

[–] BiffGG 8 years ago

You make a lot of good points. I would agree with the notion that Darlene's behavior would not automatically demand a conference between teacher and parent. More likely that a letter would be sent home or Darlene visits the vice principal and/ or gets detention. But maybe the teacher saw the behavior as a far more serious problem based on her training or education. How much the teacher was making is not certain. Prior to 1980 the profession was not well paid but by the 1990's it would have been considered a well paying occupation for a community such as Lanford if anything like where I come from.

[–] kristen1165 8 years ago

As a teacher she should know that sometimes children are just annoying jerks for no good reason.

[–] Ditto-head 8 years ago

I thought the teacher was portrayed both badly and unrealistically. While Roseanne was late, as others pointed out, they made her out to be patronizing and annoying when she greeted Roseanne by pointing out that she was late and then wanting to leave to play her squash game. Roseanne was only late because she had a job and a boss who would not permit her to leave early on no notice.

I can't speak for everyone who was ever in school, but I am the same age as Darlene and I never had a teacher who sent me home with a summons demanding that one of my parents appear for a conference the next day. If a teacher wanted a conference, a note was sent home requesting that my parents contact the teacher and schedule one. If the issue was so important that it needed to be discussed immediately, the teacher would either call or send one of those dreaded letters (the ones that required a parent's signature to prove it was received) home.